The song “Can’t Buy Me Love” was the third of seven songs by the Beatles
to hit #1 in a one-year period, an all-time record, and spent five consecutive
weeks at the top. Rolling Stone ranked "Can’t Buy Me Love" at No. 295 on
their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song "There Goes My Baby" was the first single by the second incarnation
of the Drifters (previously known as the 5 Crowns), who assumed the group
name in 1958 after manager George Treadwell fired the remaining members
of the original lineup. The single reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100
and number one on the Billboard R&B chart and on the Cash Box sales chart
for two weeks, in the summer of 1959. It was Ben E. King’s debut recording as
lead singer of the group and also introduced the idea of using violins.
THE DRIFTERS, 2017.
John Lennon‘s voice was practically fried the night they recorded "Twist and
Shout." He had a bad cold and producer George Martin knew they didn’t have
much time to nail down the vocal. Lennon gargled milk and took a cough drop
before stepping into the booth and delivered his throat-shredding take on the
Isley Brothers’ classic. "That song nearly killed me," Lennon said. "My voice
wasn’t the same for a long time after; every time I swallowed, it was like
sandpaper. I was always bitterly ashamed of it, because I could sing better
than that, but now it doesn’t bother me." (Rolling Stone)
"Twist and Shout" was the only million-selling Beatles single that was a cover
record, and the only Beatles cover single to reach the Top 10 on a national
record chart. The song failed to hit #1 because the Beatles had another song
occupying the top spot, "Can’t Buy Me Love".
The song “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro hit No. 1 the week after Martin Luther
King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. Further, the Billboard Hot 100 top 10
run of "Honey" began the week of the King assassination and ended the week
of the assassination of Robert Kennedy, and no other Hot 100 entry had a top
10 run that spanned that same time interval. It sold over one million copies in
the United States.
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Bobby Goldsboro turned 76 January 18.
The song "Lucille", originally recorded by Little Richard, was released in
February. It reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart, 21 on the US
pop chart, and number 10 on the UK chart.
Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman) turned 84 in December.
